If city high school basketball players were going to listen to anybody, it was Kenny Anderson.

The former Archbishop Molloy and Nets point guard held all the attention of the student athletes, their parents and coaches as the keynote speaker during the Daily News All-City High School basketball awards dinner at the 40/40 Club in Manhattan Tuesday night.

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Bishop Loughlin's Villanova-bound forward Jayvaughn Pinkston earned Daily News Player of the Year honors and Boys & Girls coach Ruth Lovelace was awarded Coach of the Year for the boys. Christ the King swept the girls categories, with Bob Mackey winning Coach of the Year and Bria Smith earning Player of the Year.

Anderson, who resides in Pembroke Pines, Fla. and is searching for a coaching job, said it felt surreal to be back amongst the city's rich grass-roots scene.

"I got kind of emotional when I got up there to speak because this is where it started for me - New York," said Anderson, who grew up at LeFrak City in Queens. "To be thought of as the best high school player in New York is awesome. I'm very humbled."

Beside tracing his career path and giving out words of advice for the teens, Anderson also revealed he is set to earn a bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership from St. Thomas University in Miami later this month.

"It took me 20 years, but I've done it," said Anderson, who left Georgia Tech for the NBA after his sophomore season in 1991. "It's a big accomplishment for me."

Similarly, it took Lovelace 16 years to win her first ever PSAL "AA" championship and Boys & Girls' first basketball title since 1979.

"I will find a special place in my home for it," she said, eyeing the trophy. "It was definitely a special, magical season."

The same is true for Pinkston.

"This is basically the final (high school) chapter for me," Pinkston said, "winning the Daily News Player of the Year."